176 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
not to be turned from bis pur-pose. His determination 
then was to convince the public of the advantage which 
would, arise from the better education of chemists and 
druggists. But there were no means in existence—I 
mean no public means—to advance that education, and 
he rightly decided that the funds which had been 
gathered together by the infant Society, could not be 
better employed than in forming such a school as was 
needed a school, which in the first place would send 
abroad throughout the land a better class of chemists— 
a school, the success of which financially should en¬ 
courage the establishment of other schools in various 
parts of the kingdom, to be assisted also in the beginning 
by grants in aid; he felt that if these establishments 
could be made self-supporting, hi 3 work would be done. 
I cannot for one moment suppose that he ever intended 
to found a vast charity for the education—not of the 
children of chemists—but of those lads whose parents 
might in future desire to make them chemists ! 
Coming to Dr. Attfield’s report under ‘ 1846,’ he de¬ 
scribes the difficulty of the Council when seeking to render 
examination.compulsory by Act of Parliament; rather 
than relinquish, its mission of education, he says it would 
have given up its examining powers. I do not put ex¬ 
actly the same interpretation on the records of the period. 
It seems to me that the Council were then, as now, bent 
on making examination compulsory, but that having 
established themselves as teachers, and there bein°- in 
fact no other public teachers, they felt a very reasonable 
fear that when no man should be allowed to perform 
certain duties and possess certain rights until he had 
passed the. examinations, and no other school than their 
own was in existence, the Legislature would naturally 
say, it is contrary to sound wisdom to make you the 
proprietors of the school, the examiners of the pupils • 
such a course would be open to abuse, and consequently 
a public danger. J 
I am strengthened in this view by the openin°- of the 
art , iclc in 1 th ? vei T sa me journal to which Dr. 
Attfieid refers, and that article was in all probability 
written by Jacob Bell himself; it runs thus 
-p, ^'he main feature of the proposed Pharmaceutical 
Ldl is the establishment of a compulsory examination 
for future chemists and druggists. The machinery of 
the. Bill consists merely of an arrangement for consti¬ 
tuting a competent Board of Examiners, and the penalty 
clauses are introduced for the purpose of making the 
examination compulsory. ° 
o„ww th * ? U y r l‘ ilrts of the Bill are matters of detail 
subservient to the one grand object, namely, the esta- 
A mtli 'f °!h efflclent and compulsory examination.” 
to h TooU ther Parliament saw no objection 
to the Society exercising the two functions, it seems to 
me the reason was that the Act in which he po™r of 
examination was given to the Society gave no exdusive 
rights save those of certain titles, to the exandned men 
jected candidates P W ° UU ™‘ Uall y be suffered V rd 
tiotshin of “ at “ ral ?y b nngs us immediately to the rela- 
! r °o f j. thQ society to education now that the Act of 
druSs? rd a ^i; a ““i& s ht a f “ chemi i- and 
>°oisonB re whrbh S as‘a T* *" 7” *° « K 2 
E T M 8 main 
with the Pharmaceutical Societv snC t 1 lo±t 
proval of the Privy Coundl,l’d Sfadd tion 6 o?7 
Government assessor, and I therefore Uini i f 
have publicly stated’from timeto tU^ ?or7h 0 last 
three or four years-that the relationship stands 7 
alSo” ism T h ?* ? r ' At ‘ fleld Calls aa ‘‘“"holy 
so abie e a Jnt “ tblS " b " 
tto deSd Z- * 1 ° “7 7 S ‘ How to supply 
[August 31, 1872.- 
although in my opinion the Pharmaceutical Society 
should cease to keep a school , it should cease also to be 
the schoolmaster abroad , aiding-, and to some extent guid¬ 
ing, other schools^ 
In its early .days it took the only possible means of 
supplying the requirement of the time—the establish¬ 
ment of one great model centre of pharmaceutical educa¬ 
tion necessarily in the metropolis, but not, as some 
most unreasonably tell us, for the metropolis. Every¬ 
body knows that the chemists’ assistants in London are 
mostly countrymen; that the common course of events 
is lor country apprentices to become London assistants, 
and such are the men who, according to the Professor, 
have availed themselves of the advantages offered at 
Bloomsbury Square. That establishment has various, 
facilities for education; some of them must remain and. 
be augmented from year to year. I mean the library, 
museum, and perhaps the lectures. I say ‘ perhaps the 
lectures , because I feel that professors are an appropriate 
appendage to any learned society. But two great objects, 
have now been attained. Examination is compulsory, 
and therefore education necessary, and the schools in. 
London have established the fact that they may be self- 
supporting. Can we not then leave the School of Phar¬ 
macy mainly to its own resources ? Housing, and so 
far helping it perhaps, but depending on proper fees- 
from its pupils for its support. Would not such a school 
be in reality in more healthy and wholesome condition 
if so left ? I have said that because the Society examines, 
it should not also teach; and although that may be an 
argument for leaving the established central school to itself, 
it is no argument against helping to sustain other schools- 
in large provincial centres until they too are able to- 
stand alone. But herein we must not be led away. 
There are very few provincial centres where this would, 
be done successfully, and, as I said before, it would be- 
monstrous to set up huge charity schools for boys who, 
in selecting-.pharmacy as their future, have done so with¬ 
out. possessing- sufficient means to carry them through 
their education. To aid these efforts in the country 
would.be legitimately carrying out the intentions, and. 
following in the steps of the founders of the Society.. 
Much has been said about the way in which aid should 
be given. One man is shocked at the idea of paying, 
lecturers; another would contribute nothing for rent.. 
To me it has always seemed that where an association 
has been proved to be working in the right direction 
and needs assistance, there pecuniary aid should be given, 
to the general fund of that association, and the directors 
on the spot, should apply it as best they could. The- 
1 harmaceutical Society could never be hampered by the - 
machinery, required to make all such associations 
‘ branches or ‘ in connection, ’ and would have no 
further authority over them than to discontinue its- 
assistance instantly on being- satisfied either that it was- 
misapplied or. no longer needed. Fettered with details 
many difficulties might arise. Even pay in g for results 
might lead to that which Professor Attfieid so earnestly 
and justly denounces—‘cram.’ 
We know that wherever an examination has to be- 
passed, a door is opened for ‘ cram.’ From the ‘ Senior- 
Wrangler to the lowest clerk in a Government office 
‘ cram is resorted to. It is not as the Professor has 
stated that the Pharmacy Act has not created a demand 
for education. The very fact of this superficial teaching 
being advertised is an evidence of the demand for educa¬ 
tion ;. and. it seems to me somewhat unjust to say the 
principals in pharmacy residing in provincial towns are 
basing their appeal to the Council to aid them, on a 
demand which, does not yet exist. When the School of 
i harmacy in Bloomsbm-y Square was started, no demand 
01 it existed ; but its. founders desired to create a 
demand, and we may give our provincial- friends, who 
mow that sound. education is required, credit for a like 
csire, and a desire to render the superficial system both 
unnecessary and distasteful to students. To correct thisi- 
